Packing frame for automobile trunks and suitcases



Patented Mar. 21, 1933 UNITED STATES PATE"T OFFICE SARAH E. CHENEY, 013 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA Application filed February 15, 1930, Serial No. 428,744. Renewed June 25, 1932.

This invention relates to a packing frame to be used inside of trunks, suit cases, or the like, and while the invention is applicable for trunks and suit cases used in ordinary traveling, it is especially useful when applied in connection with suit cases or trunks carried on automobiles. When trunks or suit cases are carried on automobiles they are usually carried in order to save space, in an upright 10 position and unless the garments carried in the suit case or trunk are tightly packed, the jogging and vibration due to passing over the roadway will cause the garments to gravitate to the lower end of the suit case or trunk so that when they are taken out for use they will be found to be considerably mussed up or disheveled.

The general object of this invention is to produce a packing frame of simple construction which can be readily set into a trunk or suit case and which will operate to maintain the packed garments in a presentable condition; also to provide a packing frame for this purpose which will support the garments in a nicely pressed condition and prevent the same from gravitating to the lower end of the trunk or suit case in which they are packed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a packing frame of this type which can be readily constructed in such a way as to permit of its being adjusted to fit trunks or suit cases of different sizes.

A further object of the invention is to pro vide a frame of this kind with means to facilitate access to the garments in packing the same or removing them from the frame.

Further objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

4 The invention consists in the novel parts and combinations of parts to be described hereinafter, all of which contribute to produce an eflicient packing frame for automobile trunks and suit cases.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in the following specification, while the broad scope of the invention is pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a perspective of a packing frame embodying my invention and representing the same removed from a suit case as though resting upon a horizontal support.

Figure 2 is a vertical section through a suit casc carrying a packing frame embodying my invention and illustrating the use of a tray in connection with the packing frame.

Figure 3 is a view of the same nature as Figure 1, but upon an enlarged scale and with certain parts omitted and broken away. This view particularly illustrates the preferred construction, where the frame should be adjustable or extensible.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective with certain parts broken away and illustrating means which may be employed for enabling the uppermost or outermost frame member of the device to be swung forward to give access to the interior of the frame when hanging garments in it while packing it.

Figure 5 is a side elevation with certain parts broken away, illustrating a form the presser frames may have.

The device is preferably constructed as a box-form skeleton frame. Referring more particularly to the parts,

and especially to Figure 1, the device preferably consists of two side frames 1 and 2 which are of substantially rectangular form and preferably made out of heavy wire. These side frames are preferably connected at their ends by connecting bars 3 which may be constructed of strap metal These connecting bars hold the two side frames 1 and. 2 at a desired distance apart. They also afford means for mounting in the frame two presser frames 4, each of which comprises two end bars, namely, an upper end bar 5 and a lower end bar 6. These end bars are connected by tension members which may inelude diagonally disposed elastic straps 7 and longitudinal or vertical straps 8. These straps are attached at their ends to the end bars 5 and 6, and in order to keep the points of attachment fixed on the end bars, the end bars may be provided with lateral offsets 9 to form shoulders engaged by the reinforcements 10 where the straps 8 and the straps 7 are connected to each other.

The frame is constructed so as to cooperate with the end bars 5 and 6 to facilitate the frames 4; being placed close together or far apart to press tightly the garments held in the frame.

In order to facilitate the packing opera-- tion, the frame is preferably set in an upright position, such as that indicated in Figure 1, and the garments being packed may be hung by means of ordinary clothes hangers on hanger bars 11 the ends of which may be supported on the connecting bars 3.

Any suitable means may be provided for holding the end bars 5 and 6 in different positions on the connecting bars 3. In the present instance I provide the upper and lower edges of these bars 3 with notches 12 which may be equidistant from each other and which cooperate with hooks 13 on the ends of the end bars 5 and 6 and with similar hooks 14 on the ends of the hanger bars. These hooks 13 and ll engage the notches and, in the case of the end bars 5 and 6, the tension in the straps 7 and 8 will hold the bars 5 and 6 in position.

In packing the frame, one of the presser frames 4 is set in position adjacent one side of the frame and then all of the garments to be packed would be hung on hanger bars such as the bars 11 which can be placed as close together as possible, after which the opposite presser frame 4 is set over against the garments hanging in the frame in such a way that the straps 7 and 8 of one presser frame cooperate with the corresponding tension members of the other frame to hold the garments in place. In this way a tight'pack of the garments may be formed in which the individual garments are held inwardly by light pressure on opposite sides.

The frame can then be set inside of the suit case 15, or a trunk.

If desired, the frame may include a shallow tray 16 with a flange 17 around its edge to enable it to be supported on the frame within the suit case, as illustrated in F igure 2.

If desired, the frame may be constructed so that when it is in an upright position, as illustrated in Figure 1, the hanger bars 11 can be passed horizontally into position while carrying the garments hung upon them. For this purpose I may construct the frame as illustrated in Figure 5 by providing an upper crossbar 18 on one side of the frame which is pivotally attached at 19 to the upper end of one of the vertical bars 19a. The other end of the bar 18 is formed with a resilient hook 18a to snap over the end of the opposite vertical bar 196. The ends of the bars 19a and 19?) are formed with enlarged heads 20 to assist in retaining the bar 18 in position.

If it is desired to make the frame extensible in one or more directions this may be accomplished as illustrated in Figure 3. In this figure, the connecting bars 21 are made of two overlapping sections 21a and 21b connected together by a slot 22 and bolt 23 running in the slot. The frame may be extended by positioning the sections 21a and 21b in more or less telescoped condition.

In addition to this, the upper end of the frame may be constructed of thin tubular bars 24 which telescope with the bars 25 which form the lower end of the frame construction. Small set screws 26 in the form of wing bolts may be provided for securing the frame in any desired extended condition.

It should be understood that in the practice of the invention I do not limit myself to the precise construction for the frame illustrated. The invention is characterized by the fact that the frame is of a rectangular form to fit into a suit case or trunk and forms a skeleton frame supporting the presser frames. Obviously, if desired, the presser frames could be of more elaborate construction and could have, if desired, more tension members than illustrated in the drawing. If the frame is made extensible as illus trated in Figure 3, the straps 27 and 28 may be made extensible, employing for this purpose extension buckles such as the buckles 29 illustrated in Figure 3.

If desired, the bolts 23 running in the slots 22 may be constructed as clamping bolts to clamp the connecting bar sections 21a and 21b in any adjusted extended or collapsed relation. However, if it is not desired to use such clamping bolts, it is obvious that the sections 21a and 21?) can be held in any adjusted position by providing an intermediate presser frame the end bar of which would hook into the aligned notches in the overlapping parts of the sections 21a and 21?).

If desired, instead of using crossed tension members 27, as illustrated in Figure 3, I may employ a plurality of vertically disposed tension members 30 which are substantially parallel with each other, with their ends attached to end bars 31. These end bars have hooks 32 at their ends to hook over the connecting bars 12, and may be provided with lateral offsets forming shoulders 33 to pre vent the elastic straps 30 from working along the bars 31.

It is understood that the embodiment of the invention described herein is only one of the many embodiments this invention may take, and I do not wish to be limited in the practice of the invention, nor in the claims, to the particular embodiment set forth.

What I claim is:

1. A device for holding garments in a suit case or trunk, having a box form skeleton frame removable bodily from the trunk, said frame having a pair of oppositely disposed presser frames, said presser frames having oppositely disposed end bars, and having tension members connecting the end bars so that the tension members of one presser frame cooperate with the tension members of the opposite presser frame to exert pressure upon the garments on opposite sides and hold the garments immovable between the same.

2. In a device for holding garments in a suit case or trunk, the combination of a pair of substantially rectangular side frames, connecting bars connecting the side frames at their ends, a pair of presser frames including pairs of oppositely disposed end bars with tension means connecting the same cooperating to exert pressure on the garments and hold the garments pressed between the presser frames, and means for holding the said end bars in different adjusted positions on said connecting bars.

3. A device constructed as described in claim 2; in which the connecting bars are composed of extensible sections.

4. A device constructed as described in claim 2, in which the connecting bars have notches on their outer edges and in which the end bars are received in the said notches.

5. A device constructed as described in claim 2, in which the side frames are formed with extensible side bars.

6. In a device for holding garments in a suit case or trunk, the combination of a pair of substantially rectangular side frames, connecting bars connecting the side frames at their ends and having notches in their outer edges, a pair of oppositely disposed end bars adjacent one of said side frames received in the said notches, tension members connecting the said end bars and holding the same in the said notches, another pair of end bars received in the said notches with tension members connecting the same, the first-named tension members cooperating with the secondnamed tension members to press against the garments disposed between the same, and hanger bars supported on the said connecting bars for carry ng said garments.

r. in a device for holding garments in a suit case or trunk, the combination of a pair of side frames disposed apart, with connecting bars connecting the same, and a pair of presser frames mounted on the connecting bars for holding garments in the frame pressed on opposite sides by the presser frames and held in a light pack between the presser frames.

8. A device for holding garments in a 

